Key points
- In Ukraine, a new publishing house “Insha Book” specializing in queer literature has been launched.
- Among the first projects will be the Ukrainian edition of the graphic memoir “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe and a collection of art comics by Eric Schwartz.
- “Gender Queer” is an autobiographical graphic novel about growing up, non-binary identity, asexuality, and the search for language to describe one’s own identity.
- The Ukrainian translation of “Gender Queer” aims to demonstrate that non-binary language principles can exist in the Ukrainian language – using the forms I/they/them.
- In the future, the publishing house plans to develop both translated and Ukrainian queer literature.
In Ukraine, a new publishing house “Insha Book” specializing in queer literature has been launched.
Its goal is to make LGBTQ+ experiences visible through books and create a reading environment where there is space for different identities and stories.
According to Victoria Popadyuk, publishing manager of “Insha Book”, despite the fact that the market has been filled with books on LGBTQ+ topics in recent years, the publishing house wanted to add diversity to queer representation and show other facets of queer experiences.
One of the first projects will be the Ukrainian edition of the graphic memoir “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe. This is an autobiographical graphic novel about growing up, self-awareness, non-binary identity, and asexuality, in which the author talks about the search for language to describe their own identity, the experience of coming out, and difficult conversations with family.
The publishing house notes that the Ukrainian translation of “Gender Queer” will prove that it is possible to speak about oneself in a non-binary way in the Ukrainian language.
The graphic novel is literally a guide for both those who identify as non-binary and asexual, and for those who want to better understand people with such an identity.
– “Insha Book'”
Maia Kobabe identifies as non-binary and asexual and uses non-binary pronouns e/em/eir – in the Ukrainian translation, the closest equivalents are the forms I/they/them.
Due to its frank themes, “Gender Queer” quickly ended up on the list of banned books in the US. Nevertheless, in 2020, the graphic novel won the ALA Alex Award and the Stonewall Book Award in the non-fiction category.
Another project is ‘The Art of Sharing Personal’ by Eric Schwartz, a collection of short, sensual art comics in which the author addresses his loved one.
The publishing house notes that the book speaks about feelings, closeness, and loss in a universal language.
In the future, “Insha Book” plans to work with various genres and develop not only translated but also Ukrainian queer literature.
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